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  • From: derry&bill <wchase@interchange.ubc.ca>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] crabapples
  • Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:52:29 -0800

John and Tom,

I have about 30 different crabapple trees on my property.

I dislike Golden Hornet the most because although the crabapples are
persistent, they hang as (dead) mummy crabs all through the winter until
the new buds push the old fruit off. Some of the Adams fall off, but many are hanging as mummy crabs at this time.

For me, in south coastal B.C., Red Jewel crabapples hang like beautiful
red cherries until January and I just noticed yesterday that the birds,
especially the crows, were having a feast on the these crabapples. Today they are all gone!

Dolgo, John Downie, Red Glow, Siberian and Chestnut crabs are not
persistent.

The crows ate 'Hansen's red-fleshed' crab before it was ripe.

All of the other crabs I have growing here are eaten by the birds in
sequence starting with Snowdrift in late September (robins), through
Professor Sprenger and Prairie Fire (robins) in late October, to Silver
Moon in November. My Red Jewel crabs are the last to go, so now I have
no more crabapple fruits until next year.

I'm not sure when they ate the Red Jade or the Evereste crabs.

I have Fr Fiala's book on crabapples, but I find his disease (scab) ratings are no good for our wet Pacific climate.

Mt Vernon in WA has a list of recommended crabs (disease-resistant) and
while this list is short, in my orchard, they definitely are scab-free (Evereste, Professor Sprenger, Prairie Fire, Red Jewel, White Angel).

Derry Walsh
south coastal B.C.




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